Running head: 1 Business Problem BUSINESS PROBLEM 2 Business Problem What is the problem? MovieFlix has requested to hire Rasmussen Consulting to analyze the company's biggest problem further at stake; finding the right staff, retaining them, and ensuring they buy into the vision of the business. Human capital has emerged as one of the most compelling sources of comparative advantage in the modern corporation (Khosrow-Pour, 2012). Why is it a problem for businesses? According to Noe et. al., hiring decisions are about finding the right people who will be a good fit for the job and organization (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2014). The organizations want and need to select top talent is imperative to its ability to survive, adapt, and grow. The decision-making process becomes more critical when an organization is faced with tight labor markets or the obligation to compete for its top talent with other agencies in the same industry. If a competitor gains all the best applicants one by one, sadly, this leaves other companies to make do with who or what may be left on the market to employ. Why does this problem exist or what causes it? The connection between human resources principles and an employee’s well-being is one long history of social science. Between human resources management and the worker’s wellbeing, one must consider a special case of a wider issue; how do multiple types of management, such as strategic management, financial management, HRM, etc. influence organizational BUSINESS PROBLEM 3 performance outcomes such as productivity, quality, innovation, social legitimacy (Bach & Edwards, 2013)? From the employer’s point of view, pay is a powerful tool for meeting the organization’s goals. Pay has a large impact on an employee’s attitude and behavior. It also filters and deciphers who and what employees will remain with the organization. By rewarding certain behaviors, it can align employees’ interests with the organization’s goals. Employees care about policies affecting earnings because the policies affect the employees’ income and standard means of living. At the same time, pay is a major company expense. The total share of cost and expenditures varies widely from one industry or company to another. Because pay is important to both of its effect on employees and enterprise, organizations need to strategically budget what they plan on paying each employee based on their position, skills, knowledge, experience, etc. An unplanned approach, in which each employee’s salary is independently negotiated, will likely result in unfairness, dissatisfaction, and rates that are either overly compensated or underpaid can create difficulties retaining and filling open and vacant positions. A low pay or salary can make the turn-over of the staff relatively high (Punnett, 2015). Furthermore, Punnett indicated that there is some advantage to tailoring the compensation package to the individual’s needs, but this is also likely to result in criminal cases of inequality. Furthermore, to simplify, remuneration and benefits remain a major concern for the company. What are some of the consequences if the problem goes unsolved? As the media mainstreams, there are several cases today in regards to “employee/er best practices” (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2014), i.e. company policies and practices that influence employees’ behavior, attitudes, and performance. As a company, we must ensure to BUSINESS PROBLEM 4 communicate and address matters properly without interfering with the law, business ethics and goals. According to Bach, there will be some sort of underlying issues and consequences that might happen and take place, if, and when this problem goes unresolved and unnoticed (Bach & Edwards, 2013) such as: 1. High employee turnover, 2. Increase in expenses to obtain and acquire new staff with the same skills, 3. Potential risk of a former employee disclosing and utilizing company knowledge and information in new business to make gains, and 4. It’s time-consuming and costly to the enterprise and team to train, develop, and build character and the level of one employee to lose them within thirty to sixty days of employment. To overall summarize, a well-managed human resources department, team, and management can be a source of sustainable competitive advantage by contributing to quality, profits, and customer satisfaction. The company needs to balance the cost and quality of the staff. Good quality staff can be produced with a well-managed human resources system through training, development, and proper assessment. A loyal staff will understand the core values of the company and will work wholeheartedly together because they think less worrying about their necessities. BUSINESS PROBLEM 5 References Bach, S., & Edwards, M. (2013). Managing Human Resources in Transition, 5th Edition. Dreat Britain, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Khosrow-Pour, M. (2012). Human Resources Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Application. Hershey PA, USA: Business Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global). Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. (2014). Fundamentals of Human Resources Management, 6th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Punnett, B. J. (2015). International Perspectives on Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management, 3rd Edition. New York, NY: Routledge, a Taylor & Francis Group. Running head: 1 Business Ethics BUSINESS ETHICS 2 Business Ethics MovieFlix is one of the largest top leading privately owned companies in the industry that primarily bases the company vision on DVD-by-mail and on-demand internet streaming movies/media services. The leadership and management style of the organization can contribute either the success or failure of the team. The main problem that is associated with the company remains to find the right employees, retaining them, and helping the staff realize the vision of the business. Therefore, it is the duty and role of human resources, leadership development team, and management to ensure that MovieFlix recruits the right people right seats which are best understood as; get it, want it, and the capacity methodology. Most importantly this is vital for all parties involved at MovieFlix, merely because it is critical to know that the MovieFlix employees are the primary individuals that will lead to the success of the company (Silver & Alpert, 2003). Business ethics is an applied ethics; that has the capability of scrutinizing ethical principles and difficulties that come into existence in the business premises. It has much importance to the company to employ the usage of robust, high, and vigorous business ethics since it helps prevent difficulties to seek and retain desirable staff and ensure they are buying into the vision of the company (Solomon, 2007). Also, employees will realize the business goals and ideas if the necessary ethical attributes are instilled in the organization. Some of the benefits that are associated with good business ethics include increased employee retention and customers, thus increasing sales and profit. In addition to that, good business ethics will reduce the turnover of the employees with the likelihood of increased production and satisfaction of BUSINESS ETHICS 3 customers at all times. When all the puzzle pieces and dimensions are understood and put together, the company will be in a position to see and appreciate its goals and visions. When leadership at MovieFlix tries to behave unethically while solving the problem of finding the right staff, retaining them, and at the same time ensure they buy the vision of the company could face an increase in failure. Therefore, unethical business ethics or the social responsibility of the leaders in a group will damage the reputation of the organization. Thus, portraying a less appealing and negative image to its stakeholders and leading to a decrease in sales and profit, leaving the company to face future financial problems potentially, a failing status, and position (Silver & Alpert, 2003). As the leading consultant at the MovieFlix, I would highly suggest and advise human resources, leadership development team, and managers to apply any ethical and justice approach when faced with challenges and solving problems within the company. Remaining consistent, fair, and respectful is thoroughly noticed and recognized throughout any business. If we continue to uplift and bring this type of change to the business, human resources, leadership development team, and managers can successfully hire, recruit, and retain the right person right seat for the company and remain prosperous. The organization as a whole should remain consistent and follow the guidelines and procedures when delivering the business’s mission and core values. Also, when a company spearheads justice, problems can only be experienced if ethical business behaviors are not being met and followed through within the organization (Beauchamp, Bowie & Arnold, 2004). Lastly, it is vital and suggested that MovieFlix holds their team accountable in all areas and departments of the company. BUSINESS ETHICS 4 References Beauchamp, T. L., Bowie, N. E., & Arnold, D. G. (Eds.). (2004). Ethical theory and business. Silver, J., & Alpert, F. (2003, February). Digital dawn: A revolution in movie distribution? Retrieved January 15, 2017, from Research Gate website: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 4885064_Digital_dawn_A_revolution_in_movie_distribution Solomon, R. C. (2007). It is good business: ethics and free enterprise for the new millennium. Rowman & Littlefield. Running head: 1 Research Businesses’ Code of Ethics/Conduct RESEARCH BUSINESSES’ CODE OF ETHICS/CONDUCT Research Businesses’ Code of Ethics/Conduct 2 Apple Inc. – Code of Ethics/Conduct: Apple has a commitment to ensure that it provides safe working conditions for active employees in their supply chains. To simplify, Apple aims to treat all of its employees with respect and dignity. Apple ensures that all employees can work for the company in an environment that is free from discrimination, holding management responsible for ensuring all employees are safeguarded from unfair treatment such as i.e. sexual harassment, bullying, other forms of abuse, etc. Additionally, the company guarantees all employees are working hours limited to 60 hours a week, paid minimum wages, and receive full benefits (Apple Inc., n.d.). Apple Inc. also safeguards the environment by observing operational practices that do not harm the environment and externally, the company ensures that it follows sound business practices by retaining business integrity (Apple Inc., n.d.). Google Inc. – Code of Ethics/Conduct: Google aims to remain consistent to serving their clients by upholding integrity and the privacy of their customers. Furthermore, Google aspires to ensure respect in the workplace by providing equal employment opportunities by providing an environment that safeguards the rights of its employees ("Responsible Manufacturing," n.d.).This code of conduct encourages company employees to avoid conflicts of interest in serving business clients. The company also beseeches employees to execute their tasks in a way that assures that business assets are protected. Google also confirms that it abides by the set legislation by avoiding malpractices such as i.e. bullying, verbal abuse, corporal punishment, etc. ("Responsible Manufacturing," n.d.). RESEARCH BUSINESSES’ CODE OF ETHICS/CONDUCT 3 Ways in which their codes are similar: • Apple and Google place an immense emphasis on creating a supportive environment for their employees that reduces the incidences of sexual harassment, threats, bullying, etc. and, • Both companies have an aspiration of abiding by government regulations and fair business practices, especially when it involves direct market competition. Ways in which their codes are different: • Apple places importance on environmental conservation due to the company being more involved in a manufacturing setting, and • Google is seen to promote a comfortable working environment for their employees in addition to citing their code of conduct to assure it is not inclusive and breach of company conduct. Overall, both companies provide room for future advancement in amendments and inclusions as far as their similarities and differences. Changes and or updates that could be necessary for either company’s code: • Apple could improve its code of conduct by providing additional regulations that provide a more relaxed environment for its employees that would encourage continuous business innovations and moral. The company may want to promote a higher degree of involvement of its employees by protecting the individuals who come forward to report internal breaches in the code of ethics. RESEARCH BUSINESSES’ CODE OF ETHICS/CONDUCT • 4 Google could improve its code of conduct by formulating laws that address rules and regulations that impact the environment by incorporating protection. In a similar manner, the company could consider embellishing employee rules in a way that prevents discrimination in the ranks of its employees. As I wrap, I’m going to tie my reasoning in together for both companies, because it’s quite simple, code of ethics is a highly important form of hard, electronic, paper-based, and however you may look at it, document for any business. Making changes and updates to the code of ethics can help steer companies away from landing in any dangerous types of situations and problems. Aside from making current and future decision-making processes ten times easier, in the long run, can reduce and eliminate ethical issues. These changes not only cover the corporate level but, trickle its way on down to a level of workgroups that are kept up to date with specific occurrences and issues that were hot trends in departments. Keeping these standards update to date will ensure that all companywide employees are onboard and committed to fulfilling each and every company standard. RESEARCH BUSINESSES’ CODE OF ETHICS/CONDUCT References Apple Inc. - Code of Conduct (Ethics Statement). (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2017, from BUS100mlmuseAppleInc website: https://sites.google.com/a/ email.vccs.edu/bus100mlmuseappleinc/home/apple-inc-code-of-conduct Responsible Manufacturing Google’s Supplier Code of Conduct. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2017, from Google website: https://www.google.com/about/company/ responsible-manufacturing.html 5 Running head: 1 Strategic Planning and Team Building STRATEGIC PLANNING AND TEAM BUILDING 2 Strategic Planning and Team Building As we know in the world and every organization, Human capital has emerged to one of the most compelling sources of comparative advantage in the modern corporation (Khosrow-Pour, 2012). There are three problems emerge when we are managing human capital. The problem that will discuss here is how to find the right staff, how we can retain those good staff, and how the company can ensure that they buy into the vision of the business. Weaknesses: Strengths: -Low cost, -High employee turn-over, -Strategic location(s), -No fix(ed) salary scale, -High quality, -Poor management and leadership, and -New, current, old movie releases, and -Product expansion. - No additional software. SWOT Opportunities: Threats: -International opportunities, -Non-loyal employees, -No local competitors in the market, -Potential competitor might surface, -Local hires, and -Rapid technology changes, and -Market is high for this type of product. -Similiar applications online. The information provided within the SWOT analysis details all aspects of Movieflix so we can get a better understanding of what the movie realm has to offer our consumers and provide for business longevity. Various threats can hinder the future of the company with the increasing competition, such as Netflix, the prices we offer for our viewers, and how technology is rapidly advancing (Muchmore, 2007). However, with the internal strengths and opportunities that are in play, we can implement various strategies to ensure to get ahead and surpass the threats and STRATEGIC PLANNING AND TEAM BUILDING 3 weaknesses that our company endures such as, i.e. exceeding our competitors making it difficult for them to compete. The component that we plan to do for strategic staffing is to bring expertise to the workforce planning and staffing processes (e.g. evaluating what a job requires, identifying competencies, skills, and personalities) that can be achieved by the hiring manager. It is said that hiring the best employees will ensure the company has lower turnover rates along with committed individuals who works with high morale. Movieflix has had issues with finding the right staff, retaining them, while ensuring they buy into the vision of the business. Rasmussen Consulting projects this project to be anywhere between six to nine months with the possibility of extending to twelve months depending on if the organization is building powerful strides and remaining on track. Based off of strategic staffing there are several components to the planning process that we will follow (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2014): 1. Workforce planning – predicting future employment needs and assessing current employees. 2. Employer branding – creating a favorable workplace image for future applicants. 3. Selection – evaluating candidates and whom to hire. 4. Acquiring talent – putting together job offers and persuading candidates to accept the offers presented. 5. Deploying talent – assigning tale to appropriate roles and departments throughout the business. STRATEGIC PLANNING AND TEAM BUILDING 4 It is thought to be that recruitment and selection are the most important and significant functions of the HR department where recruitment process is conducted in the organization as the first step towards creating competitive strength and strategic advantage. In other words, the hiring process usually involves a systematic process from sourcing the candidates or employees to arranging and conducting the interviews, including other resources and valuable time. The recruitment of positions requires a strategic marketing and communication process for Movieflix recruit the right fit. It would be beneficial to use traditional marketing to attract the best talent to hire for the open positions (Eriksson, 2014). Thus, the recruitment of positions will be marketed as below: • Know the Target Market: An organization should be well aware of the candidate they determine to target through market research. As a team, MovieFlix should possess the skills and qualifications to fill the positions. This process would ensure the job descriptions get in front of the most qualified candidates. • Development of Key Messaging: After knowing the target audience, the organizations should develop critical recruiting messages based on the long-term growth within the company. These messages would be promoted on the branded careers site to the interested applicants. • Distribution through Multiple Channels: that would allow MovieFlix to market through different platforms or channels (Eriksson, 2014). These types of channels could result in the following e.g. the web and social media, internal and external referrals, as well as career sites, including a select group of compatible job boards would be the best options to market the recruitment of the positions. With that in place we can carry out MovieFlix's plan above, we must ensure to build a team that will act as the hiring STRATEGIC PLANNING AND TEAM BUILDING 5 managers. The hiring managers of a company will perform the duties and tasks that relate to facilitative relationships, auxiliary, and as an advisor. Hiring managers must decipher through applications and piece together those that will fit in with the company the best. Such activities will be adhered to by both the hiring manager and the staff at hand. Each person will play their parts in operating management style traits via recruitment processes, selection, and induction into the company. For Movieflix to keep their employees happy in which they hire and have fewer turnover rates, they can enact various methods to retain them. Some of the methods in which they can utilize to maintain the newly hired employees are by training, mentoring, instilling the culture of the company as a whole, and build credible communication and trust. The company can also show appreciation to them via compensation and benefits, making them feel valued and providing them with growth opportunities. The effectiveness of recruitment should be measured to check the workforce development and tracking of the employee’s daily productivity and efficiency. Thus, the effectiveness of recruitment would be measured through creating the right benchmarks. First, the organization will create a chart with written job descriptions for each position. Upon completion, Movieflix will set goals for the workforce management, such as improved employee retention, and productivity increases, as well as decreases in errors, including satisfaction improvements. Our next step will involve all applicants to share how they learned about Movieflix and the position (Snell, Morris, & Bohlander, 2016). In this, a rank of the responses, such as total applicants interviewed and total candidates hired would be noted in order of total applicants received from each source. Furthermore, Movieflix will be able to self-determine whether more than enough qualified applicants for each position advertised including a reviewing process of STRATEGIC PLANNING AND TEAM BUILDING employee turnover the past three years to include quantitatively and qualitatively. With these steps, we would be able to measure the effectiveness of self-recruitment for Movieflix. 6 STRATEGIC PLANNING AND TEAM BUILDING 7 References Eriksson, Stefan, Rooth, & Dan-Olof (2014). Do Employers Use Unemployment as a Sorting Criterion When Hiring? Evidence from a Field Experiment. The American Economic Review, 104 (3), 1014-1039. Khosrow-Pour, M. (2012). Human Resources Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Application. Hershey PA, USA: Business Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global). Muchmore, M. (2007, March 14). Broadband Cinema. Retrieved January 17, 2017, from PC website: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2102502,00.asp Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. (2014). Fundamentals of Human Resources Management, 6th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Snell, S., Morris, S., & Bohlander, G. W. (2016). Managing human resources. Running head: 1 Management Information Systems MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS 2 Management Information Systems Advanced technology and aggressive marketing in the entertainment industry, requires and demands companies to modernize their operations which typically results in their information management systems to ensure smooth operations, that provides the best solutions to business problems. MovieFlix is in the market to make some changes and upgrades to improve its processes through an elite and powerful information system. With that, MoveFlix will elect to modernize their information system that, in return will guide the company to help determine its potential costs and expected gains in future profitability and revenue. As the lead consultant and CEO of Rasmussen Consulting, I am recommending MovieFlix to integrate Commodity Rentals management system as a part of their software data. Commodity Rentals will assist and maintain company improvements, address business aspects and challenges, and improve the efficiency of business processing. Commodity Rentals is a standard yet customizable online movie rental software. Not only is this software a hybrid but, its customizable system utilizes a robust open source database to handle transactions producing a high and efficient operation. The system alone is developed and meant to harness the market potential as much as possible thus driving towards ambitious business goals of achieving highprofit margins with reduced expenses. The system runs on an online platform, therefore, forming a sound basis for drawing more customers with quality services that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere. Rasmussen Consulting decided to select Commodity Rentals DVD system for its highend design to withhold high proficiency, extremely user-friendly, and around the clock technical support for daily business operations. Not only does this software provide a well-organized MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS 3 inventory, but it is also equipped with invoice administration modules. These modules let users manage, control, and monitor inventory records for the firm appropriately, per required daily commercial operations. The site offers an exceptionally smooth browsing experience for both the customers and company when visiting and navigating the site. The customizable feature of the look and feel of the site’s page attracts more customers giving the business a marketing advantage. The site not only offers a smart interface with well-organized forms, but it also provides various user interaction components that are clearly visible, thus making it easy for users to interact and navigate. The software design is interfaced, centered, and focused on improving the speed of communication that is sustained with immediate feedback to its customers and users. Revenues generated per month report (Welcome to Administrator, n.d.). MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS 4 User register for each month (Welcome to Administrator, n.d.). The rental system is built with a lot of flexibility which supports adding of custom features alongside with their corresponding values thus making it customizable for MovieFlix. It allows quick adjusting of the site’s look and feels using the patterning tools provided by the movie rental script. On the other hand, it uses powerful database engines that work efficiently extracting content seamlessly to MovieFlix, yet another beneficial feature built by certified software designers and developers. Please reference above examples of Revenue per month, User register for per month, etc. for results and metrics (Welcome to Administrator, n.d.). Commodity Rentals DVD software is a true price of $499 making it affordable for small, medium, and large organizations to gain the benefit and acquire. MovieFlix will need to consider MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS 5 minor installation fees which can vary in price to facilitate the process. MovieFlix will also need to put into consideration a specific dollar amount which varies depending on the hosting services that are usually provided by a third party company as the software is an online web-based application, such as i.e. the internet, technical support, etc. The new web-based software system commits to the advantage of inexpensive maintenance cost as it only needs two or three technical support members and technician to provide advanced support and training for the other staff members, including customers. Licensing is quite affordable depending on the complexity and size of the company; however, based on following, MovieFlix’s clients will always benefit the continuous system updates released by the developer. An advantage of Commodity Rentals online operation is its free way to market business products to a wide variety of customers such as; i.e. local/national businesses and current/future stakeholders who have the advantage of accessing the site from any smartphone device, tablet, and or computer. What does this mean? Reduced advertising and marketing costs, and sufficient annual income based off the company’s website that will quickly reach a vast majority if not all of its current and future audience globally, allowing customers to learn about products and services. MovieFlix will also experience a greener environment enabling MovieFlix to reduce the use of paperwork for industrial processes carried out daily as the system generates online reports with most of the transactions being downloaded and stored within the platform. Online business will offer MovieFlix a competitive advantage over other companies that operate on old technology if not on a manual system which in return generates and increases business revenue. The cost for management within the organization will decrease as most of the core operations are now automated allowing the online application to run twenty-four hours a day, seven whole days MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS a week creating a virtual shop that never closes giving the industry the benefit of the doubt to increase sales that translate into income.sss 6 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS 7 References Get DVD Rental Software. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2017, from Commodity Rentals website: http://www.commodityrentals.com/dvd.php Welcome To Administrator Area. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2017, from Commodity Rentals website: http://dvd.commodityrentals.com/version-2/admin/index.php?view=reportsmain
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